He’s Just Not That Into You Blu-ray Review

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Anniston, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long
Director: Ken Kwapis
Studio: Warner Home Video
Media Release Date: June 2, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Length: 129 minutes

Movie

“He’s just not that into you.” Why can’t we face that one small truth instead of filling our minds with platitudes on why he didn’t call? That’s what the film He’s Just Not that Into You explores, revealing the neuroses we all have and the games we all play in relationships through the interwoven lives of nine beautiful people.

If Love Actually and Sidewalks of New York had a baby, it would be He’s Just Not that Into You. In fact, I would have bet my entire chick flick Blu-ray collection that someone involved with Love Actually must have worked on this film. But unless it was a craft services guy dropping hints to director Ken Kwapis that, “Hey, chicks really dug Love Actually, you should totally do your movie like that,” I couldn’t find the connection.

I can tell you though that the film was inspired by the Sex and the City-coined catchphrase “He’s just not that into you”, was executive-produced by Drew Barrymore and was written by two of the writers on Never Been Kissed, so you know it’s got some decent chick flick credentials.

Star-Struck…
The film is also stacked with leading ladies across the acting spectrum. Drew Barrymore herself plays a role (Mary), joining dramatic heavyweight Jennifer Connolly (Janine), romantic comedy alum Jennifer Anniston (Beth), sex bomb Scarlett Johansson (Anna) and the comically cute newbie Ginnifer Goodwin, who according to the bonus features “would have done anything” for the role of romantically challenged leading lady Gigi.

Though heaven knows we can’t all be Jennifer Annistons or Scar-Jos, all the actresses in this film do a great job of portraying “normal” women – just with better hair, wardrobe and comedic timing. From their girlfriend chat sessions to their embarrassing love blunders, you can’t help but think as you watch them, “Phew, I’m not the only one who’s spent half a workday secretly cyber-stalking my blind date or who’s done a day’s worth of recon just to casually “bump into” the guy who hasn’t called in a week. Thank you for making me feel like less of a complete emotional basket case.”

But let’s step away from the ladies for a minute and get to the good stuff – the men. Bear with my tangent: I remember a time when every woman loved Ben Affleck (Neil). And then (coincidentally enough about the time the term “Bennifer” became a part of our daily vernacular) every woman began to hate Ben Affleck.

Well I would just like to go on record as saying I stuck with Ben through thick and thin, through his highs and J-Lo’s, and no matter how cute Justin Long (Alex), Kevin Connolly (Conor) or Bradley Cooper (Ben) may be or how well they played their varying roles, Ben was the guy who did it for me in this movie. His role was small, subtle and pretty low-key, but if your heart doesn’t flutter just a little bit over him in this film, you’d better see a doctor and get that looked at. Tangent over.

All You Need (to be) is Love (Actually)

Getting back to the Love Actually similarity. This film also handled the multiple story lines and the many takes on love and relationships that compose them with finesse.

It explored how and why things go South between two people, how difficult it can be to go out on a limb for love and how pathetically – but also how rightly – we cling to the hope that we will find what will make us happy, whether it’s a relationship or just finding out who we really are.

Kudos to He’s Just Not that Into You for ripping off a brilliant chick flick and making an almost equally brilliant chick flick.

Audio

• English: Dolby TrueHD
• English: Dolby 5.1
• French: Dolby 5.1

There isn’t really much you can comment on in a dialogue-driven movie like this one – except to say that I didn’t even pause to think about the audio, which is good. The dialogue stayed clear and at a comfortable volume whether the actors were whispering sweet nothings or throwing powerful tantrums, so there was no need for constant adjustment.

Video

• Video codec: XviD MPEG-4
• Video resolution: 1080p
• Aspect ratio: 2.4:1

No complaints on the video quality in this film. It was clear, colors were consistently rich and vibrant. One interesting note I will make is that the high definition format takes no prisoners when it comes actresses who have passed the age of 25. It’s definitely an adjustment to see the notoriously fresh-faced Drew Barrymore with a few more laugh lines than we’re used to and to see Jennifer Connelly’s awe-inspiring beauty up close and personal, in a more “real” way than you’ll get on a photoshopped magazine cover (if you can count the handiwork of a professional makeup artist or two as “real”).

Personally, I like it and I think it’s going to be a step forward in Hollywood glamour – these are still gorgeous women, but ditching the phony flawlessness that airbrushing and fogging add makes it more relatable.

Special Features

(High Definition)

High definition special features?! Yes please! Automatically these special features are more enjoyable to watch, but I actually liked the ones on this film. They were quirky, informative and mercifully…short.

• Featurettes. Baltimore Blade: The Relationship Issue, six “Where are They Now?” shorts about the happy couples and the starting-over singles; Six Words That Inspired a Movie, an investigation of the phrase “He’s just not that into you” and how the book of the same name became the movie; and Duet for Telephones, look at the staging techniques that create chemistry between the actors.
• Deleted Scenes, with or without commentary from Ken Kwapis, most of which revolve around Scarlett Johansson’s character, Anna.
• Additional features via BD-Live.

Overall

While this film may not have quite reached the bar that is Love Actually, it was definitely one of the best romantic comedies I’ve seen in a long time. Even Scarlett Johansson who I’m just not that into – ha, get it! – couldn’t spoil this movie for me. It was frank yet comforting, realistic yet with that touch of hopefulness that allows a girl to tell herself it’s okay to sit by the phone waiting for it to ring after a first date. Even if you know, he’s probably just not that into you.

Tagged as: Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Anniston, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson